Bianca Andreescu does not really feel like the identical one that hoisted a trophy in entrance of followers in her hometown nearly two years in the past – or the identical tennis participant. The 21-year-old from Mississauga, Ontario.
Bianca Andreescu does not really feel like the identical one that hoisted a trophy in entrance of followers in her hometown nearly two years in the past – or the identical tennis participant.
The 21-year-old from Mississauga, Ontario seems to place her 2019 efficiency behind as she prepares to defend her Nationwide Financial institution Open title in Montreal subsequent week.
“It is a fully completely different ball sport. However on the pitch I really feel like I am the identical particular person as a result of I am fearless, I really feel assured, “Andreescu instructed reporters on Saturday in a video name.
Nonetheless, she admitted that her confidence has been “up and down” over the previous few months as she struggled together with her psychological well being, handled accidents and a constructive COVID-19 take a look at, and cut up with longtime coach Sylvain Bruneau .
Andreescu did not play a lot final yr both, which in her opinion “actually sucks”.
“However now I’ve a brand new mind-set, I really feel refreshed, I have been coaching actually onerous,” she stated. “I really feel good.”
Andreescu enters the Nationwide Financial institution Open as No. 2 seed. She has a bye within the first spherical and will face Canadian Leylah Annie Fernandez on Tuesday when the second spherical kicks off.
The quarter-finals of the boys’s and ladies’s tournaments are scheduled for Friday, the semi-finals on Saturday, August 14th, and the ultimate on August fifteenth.
There’s a robust Canadian contingent at this yr’s occasion.
For the boys in Toronto, Denis Shapovalov is seeded No. 5, whereas Felix Auger-Aliassime from Montreal is No. 9. Each have byes within the first spherical.
Vasek Pospisil from Vancouver, the quantity 53 seeded, has to face a qualifying sport within the first spherical.
The match, previously referred to as the Rogers Cup, didn’t happen in 2020 as a result of COVID-19 pandemic and the younger Canadians are wanting ahead to competing on dwelling soil.
“I am simply joyful to be again and, to be trustworthy, to play once more in entrance of a Canadian crowd, in entrance of my followers,” stated Shapovalov. “It has been some time since I may see her and he or she may have seen me. So it will likely be loads of enjoyable to be on the market. “
Shapovalov stated he was assured about going into the Nationwide Financial institution Open, particularly after his look at Wimbledon final month. The 22-year-old from Richmond Hill, Ontario impressed many within the Grand Slam on grass earlier than falling towards world no 1 Novak Djokovic within the semifinals.
“The dynamics of Wimbledon are nice and I really feel like my stage of play has improved a couple of steps over the previous few months,” he stated. “I really feel like I can compete with anybody and I really feel like I’ve grow to be a very large risk. So for me these are all constructive issues. “
Each Shapovalov and Andreescu skipped the Tokyo Olympics this month and as a substitute centered on their well being and ready for the onerous court docket season.
Nonetheless, Andreescu has saved a detailed eye on the efficiency of a minimum of one Canadian athlete – her good good friend Penny Oleksiak.
Oleksiak, 21, grew to become probably the most embellished Olympian in Canadian historical past final week when she gained her seventh medal, a bronze within the ladies’s 4×100 medley relay.
Andreescu stated she watched “in tears” at dwelling.
“We talked about enjoying within the Olympics collectively and I wasn’t there, however simply seeing her having that second, simply embracing it, is simply superb. I want her all one of the best, ”she stated. “It simply evokes me too. I really feel much more motivated to do higher. “
This report from The Canadian Press was first revealed on August 7, 2021.
Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press
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